I was speaking at the Women’s History Network conference at the Women’s Library, London, on my research project on the 1970s feminist dress codes. Several of the people I’d interviewed were in the audience, as were others who were active in feminism at that time. There was some discussion about the differences between American and British feminists – the women I interviewed felt that British activists were less ‘hard-line’ in their approach to clothes. Dress practices were also affected by economic realities – women who were trying to make a living in an unsympathetic environment had to be careful not to antagonise employers by wearing garments deemed ‘provocative’ – like knee-length culottes.
Feminists on an Abortion Rights march in London, 1977
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